Melodramatic Jeff Merkley Mourns Filibuster Change in 2017, but Celebrated It in 2013

Merkley called the Senate's change to filibuster rules Thursday "a dark deed," but praised Senator Reid for doing the same.

By NTK Staff | 04.06.2017 @2:56pm

“The dark deed is done,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) lamented on Twitter Thursday after Senate Republicans changed rules regarding the filibuster. “McConnell has just put a knife into the heart of our We the People republic.”

The dark deed is done. McConnell has just put a knife into the heart of our We the People republic.

Merkley had remained vehemently opposed to Republican efforts to alter Senate rules throughout the Supreme Court fight, but his campaign failed Thursday afternoon.

Senate Republicans deployed the so-called “nuclear option” to dismantle a Democratic filibuster on the confirmation vote of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. The parliamentary move changed the requisite votes for cloture on debate from 60 to a simple majority of 51.

Merkley, apparently imagining himself in the midst of an Edgar Allen Poe novel, took to Twitter to proclaim his lamentations of the Senate’s supposed murder of democracy.

However, Merkley tweeted a different position in 2013 when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) ended the filibuster for federal judicial nominations.

In fact, Merkley thanked Reid for his “leadership” on “filibuster reform.”

Thank you for your leadership RT @SenatorReid Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to consider filibuster reform. It had to be done.